Shelton Hall sued his employer for wrongful termination, claiming he was fired because he reported to the company that he had been assaulted by a co-worker. This is a diversity case based on Mississippi common law.

The company moved to dismiss, maintaining that Mississippi is an employment-at-will state and that Hall had not shown entitlement to the only exception to the at-will doctrine, which is discharge for reporting illegal acts of the employer. The district court granted the motion, correctly reasoning as follows:

The only factual allegations in the complaint are that a co-worker assaulted plaintiff, that plaintiff reported the assault, and that he was terminated in retaliation for reporting the assault. There is no allegation that [the employer] authorized the assault or any facts alleged to support an inference that it ratified the assault or that the assault occurred in the course and scope of employment.

The district court carefully explained its reasons in a succinct but sufficiently thorough Memorandum Opinion and Order. We AFFIRM, essentially for the reasons given by the district court.